Burglig
='''Burglig '''''(burg-leeg)'' General Information '''Government:''' Council of Mayors '''Pre-dominant Faiths:''' Weselayn, Ulfban, Yali, Belaius, Avandar '''Capitol:''' Gilbin [Gill-bin] '''Population Density:''' Low '''Other Races:''' Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Gnomes '''Exports:''' Bulk Food Items, Raw Ores, Fish, Woven Goods, Ale '''Imports:''' Refined Metals, Lumber, Ponies History The history of the Halflings is one of mixed curses and blessings. Burglig is the ancestral home of the halfling people and is situated in the Guldin Hills and Eldwood Forest. Weselayn, the progenitor of the halfling peoples, saw the fertile nature of this land and with the aid of his sister Yali set about creating a peaceful people whose main concern in the world was tending and cultivating the land; concerned with the good things of life. In the early years, the halflings enjoyed having Weselayn and Yali taking a very active role in their lives as they taught them how to till the land, cultivate the fields, raise herds of sheep and goats, and fish the ocean and rivers coasts in their fertile land. Their existence was a simple affair and full of the simple joys of life as their teachers had no knowledge of anything else. Things continued thus for many years with most races completely ignoring the halflings entirely, more concerned about their own welfare and situation. This would last, however, for jealousy between gods is a dangerous thing for the mortals who worship them. Nearby to the west, Tsalaxis, goddess of the lizardfolk and a master of the weather, took great offense at Weselayn’s constant interference by blocking or diverting her storms from the sea and mountains in the simple interest of making his people as prosperous as possible. There had as yet been no bad blood between the two gods, and so an infuriated Tsalaxis first demanded that Weselayn cease his interference or face retribution before any action was taken. Weselayn acknowledged Tsalaxis’s right to dispense the weather as she always had, but could not bring himself in the end to allow them to harm his people unduly. Thinking simply lessening the storms and winds of Tsalaxis would placate the angry goddess, Weselayn continued to care for his people perhaps a little too closely. In his mind, he truly did not think that Tsalaxis would contemplate anything serious as she also had a jealous love of her own mortal children and would accept his unspoken compromise as fair. Tsalaxis, however, was anything but placated and took even greater offense believing Weselayn to be mocking her. She gave the lord of halflings and his sister some time to change their ways and then could no longer stand the offense given. This simple miss-understanding between two gods would usher in the darkest days of the halfling race. Tsalaxis took her vengeance to the next level, believing that Weselayn’s interference was nothing short of vindictive and mocking. Although Weselayn and Yali had several mutual allies of notable standing that stayed her from striking out at them directly, she knew all too well how much he cherished his simple, peaceful, people. Her own children were slightly primitive, perhaps, but they were larger and knew well how to dispense warfare when their goddess asked and asked she did. And so it began, decades and centuries of unremitting hate and brutality that for years profited only the lizardfolk of Gar as they killed, took land and slaves, and even used their captured prey as food when it suited them, as was the ire of their goddess. The halflings, having no inkling of how to defend themselves, cried out to Weselayn and Yali for help. All they could do, however, is look on in horror as they had no knowledge or inkling of the arts of war though they did the best they could for their people. The halflings called to the embattled, but powerful dwarves of Urdur to their aid and with their own difficulties it was all the dwarves could do to send companies to help hold what remained of Burglig and the halflings, with nearly two thirds of their territory gone. Fate, however, took an odd twist that no one expected as the fortunes of the halflings was about to once again change. All though it is unknown WHERE he came by it, every halfling in Burglig celebrates the dwarf Baern Hornblende for what he had. For some time, the dwarf had been in custody of the egg of a maligaroc and when it hatched, he taught it all he could of the world and what he knew best - war - for Baern was a veteran of many battles and an avid patriot of Urdur. When it came that Baern brought the then adolescent Ur-Glaernath with him to Burglig, he never guessed that it would be there that he would be parting ways with the closest thing he would have to a child for many years yet. When Baern’s tenure was done in Burglig, his charge said declared that he wanted to stay and apply his knowledge and ability to helping the halflings to survive. Baern grudgingly agreed and to this day the Hornblende family is honored whenever they visit the halflings. Glaernath, like all his kind, was possessed of an extremely keen intelligence and had learned more than Baern could have ever guessed. Also like all of his kind, he was covered from snout to tail tip in ultra hard scales that are all but impenetrable to any common weapon. He taught the halflings metal craft and began to teach them the art of warfare, putting his extreme intellect and natural defenses to lead the halfling people out against their oppressors. Girding himself in chain barding and wielding a broadsword as he had seen and learned from his time with Baern, Glaernath proved that he was unusual for his kind in the respect that he had no stipulations to throwing himself into melee thanks to his upbringing. Behind their still growing champion, the halflings changed their own fortunes and it was then the lizardfolk who suddenly found themselves outmatched as Glaernath was all too willing to shield the people he had come to love by leading the charges himself until they were ready to fight on their own. Even then, he would lead them whenever he could, and when Burglig was reclaimed he decided to the joy of the halfling people to stay to protect them for the rest of his time. The halflings gave him the name Avandar and many settled to worshiping him for the hero he was. In time, hero worship began to be true worship as his legend grew and Weselayn, seeing in this unexpected savior a hero worthy of his people who would teach them what he could not and still value their ways, did much with his sister’s help to foster this attitude in the hopes of ascending him to their side; eventually succeeding. The halflings sense then have continued as they once did only now with the ability to defend themselves. To this day, Burglig largely remains a peaceful, happy, and productive country much in love with life and their deities who are more willing than most to address to their welfare. Society